JP7384416B2 - Minimal drive of transmitter to increase hover detection - Google Patents

Description

The disclosed system relates generally to the field of user input, and in particular to devices that are sensitive to the use of various input styluses and touch.

This is a non-provisional patent application and claims the benefit of US Provisional Patent Application No. 62/572,005, filed on October 13, 2017, and entitled "High Proximity Minimal Transmit Sensor Driver." The contents thereof are incorporated herein by reference.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following more detailed description of embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the figures, reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the drawings. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the disclosed embodiments.
Figure 1 is a diagram of the sensor. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operating modes for the sensor. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating another mode of operation for the sensor. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another mode of operation for the sensor. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the sensor configuration.

U.S. Patent No. 9,019,224 U.S. Patent No. 9,529,476 U.S. Patent No. 9,811,214 U.S. Patent No. 9,158,411 U.S. Patent No. 9,933,880 U.S. Patent No. 9,804,721 U.S. Patent No. 9,710,113 U.S. Patent Application No. 15/162,240 U.S. Patent Application No. 15/690,234 U.S. Patent Application No. 15/195,675 U.S. Patent Application No. 15/200,642 U.S. Patent Application No. 15/821,677 U.S. Patent Application No. 15/904,953 U.S. Patent Application No. 15/905,465 U.S. Patent Application No. 15/943,221 U.S. Patent Application No. 62/540,458 U.S. Patent Application No. 62/575,005 U.S. Patent Application No. 62/621,117 U.S. Patent Application No. 62/619,656 PCT Publication PCT/US2017/050547

In various embodiments, the present disclosure relates to hover, touch, pressure sensitive systems (e.g. objects, panels or keyboards) and their applications in real world, artificial reality, virtual reality, and augmented reality settings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the disclosure herein generally applies to all types of systems that use high speed multi-touch to detect hover, touch, and pressure. In certain embodiments, the systems and methods can be applied to panels and display surfaces, including, but not limited to, smart boards, smart pads, and interactive displays.

Throughout this disclosure, the terms "touch," "touches," "touch event," "contact," "contacts," "hover" are used throughout this disclosure. "hover", "hovers" or other descriptions are used to describe events or times when a key, keyswitch, user's finger, stylus, object, or body part is detected by a sensor. may be done. For some sensors, detection occurs only when the user makes physical contact with the sensor or the device in which the sensor is implanted. In some embodiments, these detections occur as a result of physical contact with the sensor or the device in which the sensor is implanted, and as commonly indicated by the phrase "contact." Among other embodiments, and sometimes referred to by the term "hovering," the sensor may be hovering at a distance from the touch surface, or rather at a "touch" distance from the sensor device. It can be adjusted to enable detection. Also, the sensor causes a perceptible change despite the fact that the conductive or capacitive object, such as a stylus or pen, is not in actual physical contact with the surface. Therefore, the use of language in this description that suggests reliance on sensed physical contact should not be construed to mean that the described techniques apply only to those embodiments; , nearly all, but not all, of what is described herein applies equally to "touching" and "hovering", each of which is a touch. Typically, as used herein, the phrase "hover" refers to a non-contact touch event or touch. Also, as used herein, the term "hover" is a type of "touch" in the sense that "touch" is intended herein. Thus, as used herein, the phrases "touch event" and "touch" when used as nouns refer to near-touch, and near-touch events, or those identified using a sensor. including any other gestures that may be made. "Pressure" refers to the force per unit area exerted by user contact (eg, pressure by the user's fingers or hand) against the surface of an object. The amount of "pressure" is likewise a measure of "contact" (or "touch"). “Touch” refers to the state of “hovering,” “contacting,” “pressure,” or “grasping.” On the other hand, a lack of "touch" is usually identified by a signal below the threshold for accurate measurements by the sensor. According to one embodiment, touch events are detected, processed, and fed to downstream computational processes with very low latency (e.g., on the order of about 10 milliseconds or less, or less than about 1 millisecond). There are cases.

As used in this disclosure, particularly in the claims, ordinal terms such as first, second, etc. by themselves imply order, time, or uniqueness. It is not intended to be suggestive, but rather is used to distinguish one claimed composition from another. In some usages, where the context dictates, these terms may also imply that first and second are unique. For example, if an event occurs at a first time and another event occurs at a second time, the intended implication is that the first event occurs before, after, or at the same time as the second. There isn't. However, if the further limitation that the second time is after the first time is presented in the claim, the context will require that the first time and the second time be read as unique times. Similarly, where the subject matter so stipulates or permits, ordinal terms are to be interpreted broadly so that two specified claim features may be of the same or different characteristics. intended. Thus, for example, the first and second frequencies can be, without limitation, the same frequency, for example, the first frequency is 10 Mhz and the second frequency is 10 Mhz, or they can be different frequencies. , for example, the first frequency is 10 Mhz and the second frequency is 11 Mhz. The context may, for example, further qualify that the first and second frequencies are frequency orthogonal to each other, or may indicate that they are not the same frequency.

This application considers various embodiments of sensors designed for the detection of touch events. The sensor configuration is suitable for use in frequency-orthogonal signal techniques (see, for example, US Pat. The sensor configurations discussed herein may be used with other signal techniques, including scanning or time division techniques, and/or code division techniques. It is pertinent to mention that the sensors described or illustrated herein are also suitable for use in connection with signal immersion (further referred to as signal injection) techniques and devices.

The systems and methods disclosed herein can be applied to capacitive touch sensors, particularly, but not limited to, frequency division multiplexing (FDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), or both FDM and CDM methods. Principles related to and for the design, manufacture and use of capacitive touch sensors using multiplexing schemes based on orthogonal signaling, such as hybrid modulation techniques that combine References to frequency herein may also refer to other orthogonal signal bases. As such, this application incorporates by reference our previous US Pat. These applications contemplate FDM, CDM, or FDM/CDM hybrid touch sensors that may be used in conjunction with the sensors of the present disclosure. In such a sensor, the interaction is sensed when the signals from the rows are combined (increased) and decoupled (decreased) into a column, and the result is received on that column. By exciting the rows in succession and measuring the coupling of the excitation signals in the columns, a heat map reflecting capacitance changes can be produced in varying and therefore close proximity.

This application further uses principles used in high-speed multi-touch sensors and other interfaces disclosed in the following documents: US Pat. 7, Patent Document 4. Familiarity with the disclosure, concepts and nomenclature within these patents is presumed. The entire disclosures of those patents and the entire disclosures of those patents and patent applications incorporated by reference are herein incorporated by reference. This application uses principles used in high-speed multi-touch sensors and other interfaces disclosed in the following documents: US Pat. Patent Document 13, Patent Document 14, Patent Document 15, Patent Document 16, Patent Document 17, Patent Document 18, Patent Document 19, Patent Document 20. Familiarity with the disclosure, concepts and nomenclature within these patents is presumed. The entire disclosures of those patents and the entire disclosures of those patents and patent applications incorporated by reference are herein incorporated by reference.

FIG. 1 illustrates a particular principle of a high speed multi-touch sensor (100) according to one embodiment. The transmitter (200) sends different signals generated by the signal generator (202) to each of the transmission conductors (201) of the panel (400). The signals are designed to be "orthogonal" (ie, separable and distinguishable from each other). A receiver (300) is attached to each receive conductor (301) and has a signal processor 302 operably connected thereto. The transmitting conductor (201) and the receiving conductor (301) are conductors (further referred to as antennas) capable of transmitting and/or receiving signals. The receiver (300) is configured to receive and, e.g., receive any of the transmitted signals, or any combination thereof, with or without other signals and/or noise. It is designed to individually determine criteria such as the amount for each of the orthogonal transmitted signals present on the conductor (301). The sensor panel (400) includes a series of transmit conductors (201) and receive conductors (301) (all not shown) along which orthogonal signals can propagate. In some embodiments, the transmitting conductor (201) and the receiving conductor (301) are connected such that a touch event causes a change in coupling between at least one of the transmitting conductor (201) and at least one of the receiving conductor (301). ) is placed. In some embodiments, a touch event will cause a change in the amount (eg, magnitude) of the signal transmitted on the transmit conductor (201) that is sensed by the receive conductor (301). In some embodiments, a touch event will cause a change in the phase of the signal transmitted on the transmit conductor (201) that is sensed on the receive conductor (301). Since the sensor (100) fundamentally detects touch events due to variations in connectivity, this may not be of much importance, except for reasons that may be obvious for certain embodiments, the type of changes that a touch brings about in touch-related connectivity. isn't it. As discussed above, a touch, or a touch event, does not require a physical touch, but rather an event that affects the coupled signal. In some embodiments, a touch or touch event does not require a physical touch, but rather an event that affects the combined signals in a repeatable or predictable manner.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the result of a touch event in the vicinity of both the transmitting conductor (201) and the receiving conductor (301) is that it is on the receiving conductor (301). When detected, it causes a change in the signal transmitted on the transmitting conductor (201). In some embodiments, changes in coupling may be detected by comparing successive measurements on the receiving conductor (301). In some embodiments, a change in coupling may be detected by comparing measurements made on the receiving conductor (301) and characteristics of the signal transmitted on the transmitting conductor (201). In some embodiments, the change in coupling is determined by comparing successive measurements on the receiving conductor (301) and measuring the signal transmitted on the transmitting conductor (201) with the measurements made on the receiving conductor (301). It may be measured both by comparing known characteristics. More generally, a touch event causes and therefore corresponds to the measurement of a signal on the receiving conductor (301). Because the signals on the conductors (201) are orthogonal, multiple row signals can be coupled to the receive conductor (301) and distinguished by the receiver (300). Similarly, the signal on each transmit conductor (201) can be coupled to multiple receive conductors (301). For each receive conductor (301) connected to one transmit conductor (201), measured on the receive conductor (301) (regardless of how the touch affects the coupling between rows and columns) The received signal contains information indicating which transmitting conductor (201) is being touched at the same time as its receiving conductor (301). The magnitude or phase change of each signal received is generally related to the amount of coupling between the columns (301) and rows (201) carrying the corresponding signals, and therefore the distance of the touch object to the touch surface; The area of the touch surface covered by the touch and/or the pressure of the touch may be indicated.

In various implementations of touch devices, there may be a protective barrier between rows (201) and/or columns (301) and fingers or other touch objects, such that transmitting conductors (201) and/or receiving conductors (301) ) is unlikely or impossible. Furthermore, typically the transmitting conductor (201) and receiving conductor (301) themselves are not in physical touch with each other, but rather allow signals to be coupled between them, and the coupling is placed in a proximity position that varies by. Typically, row-column connections are not due to actual contact between them or actual touch from fingers or other touch objects, but rather by moving fingers (or other objects) into proximity. This is due to the effect. Proximity results in changes in binding. This effect is referred to herein as touch.

In some embodiments, the orientation of the transmit conductor (201) and of the receive conductor (301) may vary as a result of physical processes. And changes in the orientation (eg motion) of the transmit conductor (201) and/or the receive conductor (301) relative to each other may also cause a change in coupling. In some embodiments, the orientation of the transmit conductor (201) and receive conductor (301) may change as a result of physical processes. And the range of orientations between the transmitting conductor (201) and the receiving conductor (301) includes ohmic contact, and therefore, in some orientations within a range, the transmitting conductor (201) and the receiving conductor (301) ) may be a physical touch. On the other hand, in other orientations of the range, the transmit conductor (201) and the receive conductor (301) are not in physical contact and may vary their coupling. In some embodiments, if row (201) and column (301) are not in physical contact, their coupling may vary as a result of moving closer together or farther apart. In some embodiments, if the transmit conductor (201) and receive conductor (301) are not in physical contact, their coupling may vary as a result of grounding. In certain embodiments, when the transmitting conductor (201) and the receiving conductor (301) are not in physical contact, their coupling may also vary as a result of material transformations in the coupled field. be. In some embodiments, if the transmitting conductor (201) and the receiving conductor (301) are not in physical contact, their coupling may be through deformation of the transmitting conductor (201) or the receiving conductor (301), or through a row or There may also be variations as a result of the antennas associated with the rows.

The nature of the transmitting conductor (201) and the receiving conductor (301) is arbitrary and special orientations are possible. In fact, transmitting conductors (201) and receiving conductors (301) are not intended to simply refer to a square grid, but rather to a set (row) of conductors over which a signal is transmitted and to which conductors the signal will be combined. is intended to refer to a set (column) of The concept that signals are transmitted on rows and received on columns themselves is arbitrary; signals can easily be transmitted on conductors arbitrarily designated columns, and arbitrarily named rows. or both may be arbitrarily named something else. Furthermore, the rows and columns need not be grid-like. Other shapes are possible as long as touch events affect row-column connections. For example, "rows" can be concentric circles and "columns" can be spokes radiating outward from the center. and neither "rows" nor "columns" need to follow a geometric or spatial pattern; thus, for example, keys on a keyboard may be connected randomly to form rows and columns (their (with or without relative position). Additionally, the antenna or conductor may be used as a row with a more defined shape than a simple conductor wire, such as a row made of ITO, for example. For example, the antenna or conductor may be circular, or rectangular, or may be of virtually any shape or varying shape. The antennas or conductors used as rows may be oriented in the vicinity of one or more conductors or antennas, or one or more antennas or conductors serving as columns. In some embodiments, the antenna or conductor is used for signal transmission and may be oriented in close proximity to one or more conductors or one or more other antennas used to receive the signal. A touch will change the coupling between the antenna or conductor used to transmit the signal and the antenna or conductor used to receive the signal.

It is not necessary that there are only two types of signal propagation channels: instead of transmitting conductors (201) and receiving conductors (301), in some embodiments channels "A", "B" and "C" are provided. where a signal transmitted on "A" is received on "B" and "C" or, in some embodiments, a signal transmitted on "A" and "B" may be received on "C". It is also possible that the propagation channel of the signal can alternate functions, sometimes supporting the transmitter and sometimes supporting the receiver. It is further contemplated that if the transmitted signal is orthogonal and therefore separable from the received signal, the signal propagation channel can support a transmitter and a receiver simultaneously. More than two types of antennas or conductors may be used simply as "rows" and "columns." Many alternative embodiments are possible and will be apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this disclosure. Similarly, there need not be a unique transmitted signal in each transmission medium. In some embodiments, multiple orthogonal signals are transmitted on each row or antenna.

Returning briefly to FIG. 1 and as previously mentioned, in one embodiment, the panel (400), which is a touch surface, includes a series of transmitting conductors (201) and receiving conductors (301) along which the signal propagates. be able to. As discussed above, the transmit conductor (201) and the receive conductor (301) are oriented such that the signals are coupled differently when they are not touched than when they are touched. . The changes in the signals coupled between them may be generally proportional or inversely proportional (but not necessarily linearly proportional) to the touch such that the touch is measured as a gradual change, resulting in a strong touch (i.e. It also allows for the distinction between touch (closer or firmer) and weaker touch (i.e., farther or softer), and even non-touch.

A receiver (300) is attached to each receiving conductor (301) to which a signal processor (302) is operably connected. The receiver (300) is designed to receive the signals present on the receiving conductor (301), including orthogonal signals, random combinations of orthogonal signals, and any noise or other signals present. Typically, the receiver is designed to receive frames of signals present on the receiving conductor (301) and to identify the column providing the signal. Frames of signals are received during integration or sampling periods. In some embodiments, the signal processor (302) associated with the receiver's data determines the amount of each orthogonal transmitted signal present on its receive conductors (301) during the time the frame of the signal was captured. An associated measure may be determined. Thus, in addition to identifying each receiving conductor (301) and the transmitting conductor (201) in touch, the receiver can provide additional (eg, qualitative) information regarding the touch. Generally, a touch event may correspond (or may correspond inversely) to a received signal on conductor (301). For each receive conductor (301), the various signals received on it indicate which corresponding transmit conductor (201) is being touched at the same time as the receive conductor (301). In an embodiment, the amount of coupling between the corresponding transmitting conductor (201) and receiving conductor (301) may be indicative of, for example, the area of the touch surface covered by the touch, the pressure of the touch, etc. In some embodiments, a change in the coupling over time between corresponding transmit conductors (201) and receive conductors (301) is indicative of a change in touch at the intersection of the two conductors.

In some embodiments, a mixed signal integrated circuit includes a signal generator, a transmitter, a receiver, and a signal processor. In some embodiments, a mixed signal integrated circuit is adapted to generate one or more signals and send a transmit antenna signal. In some embodiments, the mixed signal integrated circuit is adapted to generate multiple frequency orthogonal signals and send the multiple frequency orthogonal signals to the transmit antenna. In some embodiments, the mixed signal integrated circuit is adapted to generate a plurality of frequency orthogonal signals and send one or more of the plurality of frequency orthogonal signals to each of the plurality of rows. In some embodiments, the frequency orthogonal signals range from DC to about 2.5 GHz. In some embodiments, the frequency orthogonal signals range from DC to approximately 1.6 MHz. In some embodiments, the frequency orthogonal signals range from 50 kHz to 200 kHz. The frequency interval between the frequency orthogonal signals must be equal to or greater than the reciprocal of the integration period (that is, the sampling period).

In some embodiments, the signal processor of the mixed signal integrated circuit (or downstream components or software) is adapted to assert at least one value representing each frequency-orthogonal signal transmitted to the row. In some embodiments, a signal processor in the mixed signal integrated circuit (or downstream components or software) performs a Fourier transform on the received signal. In some embodiments, the mixed signal integrated circuit is adapted to digitize the received signal. In some embodiments, the mixed signal integrated circuit (or downstream components or software) is adapted to digitize the received signal and perform a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on the digitized information. In some embodiments, the mixed signal integrated circuit (or downstream components or software) is suitable for digitizing the received signal and performing a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the digitized information. FFT is a type of discrete Fourier transform.

Essentially, it will be clear to those skilled in the art in view of this disclosure that the DFT processes an array of digital samples (e.g., a window) obtained during a sampling period (e.g., an integration period) in which it is repeated. It should be obvious. As a result, signals that are not at the center frequency (i.e. not an integer multiple of the reciprocal of the integration period (the reciprocal defines the minimum frequency spacing)) contribute relatively nominally but small values to other DFT bins. It may also have unintended consequences. Thus, as we use the term "orthogonal" herein, it will be apparent to one of skill in the art in view of this disclosure that is not "broken" by such a small contribution. In other words, as we use the phrase "frequency orthogonal" herein, if substantially all of the contribution of one signal to a DFT bin is made to a different DFT bin than all of the contribution of the other signal. , the two signals are considered orthogonal in frequency.

In some embodiments, the received signal is sampled at at least 1 MHz. In some embodiments, the received signal is sampled at at least 2 MHz. In one embodiment, the received signal is sampled at 4 Mhz. In one embodiment, the received signal is sampled at 4.096 Mhz. In some embodiments, the received signal is sampled above 4 MHz.

For example, 4096 samples may be obtained at 4.096 MHz to achieve kHz sampling. In such an embodiment, the integration period is 1 millisecond. The restriction that the frequency spacing must be greater than or equal to the reciprocal of the integration period results in a minimum frequency spacing of 1 kHz. (For example, obtaining 4096 samples at 4 MHz results in an integration period slightly longer than 1 millisecond, does not achieve kHz sampling, and also results in a minimum frequency spacing of 976.5625 Hz, given this disclosure.) (As would be clear to those skilled in the art.) In some embodiments, the frequency spacing is equal to the reciprocal of the integration period. In such embodiments, the maximum frequency of the frequency orthogonal signal range must be less than 2 MHz. In such embodiments, the maximum practical frequency of the frequency orthogonal signal range should be less than about 40% of the sampling rate, or about 1.6 MHz. In some embodiments, a DFT (which may be an FFT) is used to convert the digitized received signal into bins of information, each of which has a frequency orthogonal frequency of the transmitted signal transmitted by the transmit antenna 130. It reflects. In one embodiment, the 2048 bins correspond to frequencies from 1 kHz to about 2 MHz. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this disclosure that these examples are typically merely illustrative. Depending on the needs of the system and according to the constraints described above, the sampling rate may be increased or decreased, the integration period may be adjusted, and the frequency range may be adjusted.

In some embodiments, the DFT (which can be FFT) output includes bins for each frequency-orthogonal signal that is transmitted. In some embodiments, each DFT (which can be FFT) bin includes in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components. In one embodiment, the sum of the squares of the I and Q components is used as a measure corresponding to the signal strength for that bin. In one embodiment, the square root of the sum of the squares of the I and Q components is used as a measure corresponding to the signal strength for that bin. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this disclosure that criteria corresponding to signal strength for bins can be used as touch related criteria. In other words, the measure corresponding to the signal strength of a given bin will change as a result of a touch event.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operating modes of the sensor. Shown in FIG. 2 is a sampling of the transmit conductor (201) and the receive conductor (301). In the operating mode illustrated in FIG. 2, only the receiving conductor (301) is operated. The transmit conductor (201) may be connected to a high impedance p-channel field effect transistor, or may be separated, simply to leave the receive conductor (301) active. This mode of operation is primarily used when the signal is injected through the body or transmitted by a different transmitting antenna or conductor than the transmitting conductor (201). In FIG. 2, all of the receiving conductors (301) are shown connected and capable of receiving transmitted signals. However, in some embodiments fewer than all receive conductors (301) may be connected. In an embodiment, a switch is connected between the receiving conductor (301) and the transmitting conductor (201) such that the functions of the transmitting conductor (201) and the receiving conductor (301) are switchable between each other. . In certain embodiments, both the transmit conductor (201) and the receive conductor (301) are operable to receive signals.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating another mode of operation for the sensor. This mode is also described above with reference to FIG. In this mode, the transmitting conductor (201) transmits a signal and the receiving conductor (301) receives a signal. Interaction with the sensor is used to create a heat map that is used to confirm and determine touch events. This mode is excellent at detecting touch events such as contacts and "approaching" touch events. By close touch event it is meant that the touch event is within a few centimeters of the surface of the sensor. However, it should be understood that touch events occurring at further distances than this may also be detected. In fact, by referring to proximal touch events, we mean that touch events occur at a location on the surface of the sensor, or closer to the surface of the sensor than touch events that occur using other modes of operation. is meant.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another mode of operation of the sensor. In this mode, the number of active transmit conductors (201) is reduced compared to the transmit conductors (201) in the mode illustrated in FIG. The mode illustrated in FIG. 3 is referred to herein as the first mode for ease of reference. That is, the panel typically has a first mode in which all of the transmitting conductors (201) are transmitting signals. In another second mode, the transmitting conductor (201) transmits less signals than in the first mode. In an embodiment, half of the transmit conductors (201) are active compared to the transmit conductors (201) operated in the first mode. In an embodiment, three quarters of the transmit conductors (201) are active compared to the transmit conductors (201) operated in the first mode. In an embodiment, one quarter of the transmit conductors (201) are active compared to the transmit conductors (201) operated in the first mode. In an embodiment, one third of the transmit conductors (201) are active compared to the transmit conductors (201) operated in the first mode. In an embodiment, one-eighth of the transmit conductors (201) are active compared to the transmit conductors (201) operated in the first mode. In an embodiment, one-sixth of the transmit conductors (201) are active compared to the transmit conductors (201) operated in the first mode. In an embodiment, one-ninth of the transmit conductors (201) are active compared to the transmit conductors (201) operated in the first mode. In an embodiment, one-tenth of the transmit conductors (201) are active compared to the transmit conductors (201) operated in the first mode. In some embodiments, a predetermined number of transmit conductors (201) are used, less than those operating in the first mode. In an embodiment, the active transmit conductors (201) are equidistant from each other from the active transmit conductors (201). In some embodiments, the active transmit conductors (201) are not equidistant from each other. In some embodiments, the transmitting conductor (201) can operate in a plurality of additional modes in addition to the first mode, where each of the plurality of additional modes comprises a different number of transmitting conductors (201) in the first mode. 201) (e.g. 1/2 active transmit conductor (201) in a second mode and 1/4 active transmit conductor (201) in a third mode).

The magnitude of the signal on the transmitting conductor (201) is high, allowing the range of detection of touch events to be increased. The reduction in transmit conductors (201) further reduces the number of small signal grounds in the sensor area. The signal magnitude of the transmitting conductors (201) can be increased due to the increased distance between adjacent transmitting conductors (201). By receiving the amplified signal on the receiving conductor (301), touch events occurring further from the surface of the touch panel can be detected compared to touch events occurring during operation in the first mode. This allows the touch panel to operate in one or more modes, where the sensitivity to touch events can be varied depending on the user's needs or desired level of sensitivity.

Referring to FIG. 5, the more low impedance conductors are used near the touch surface, the shorter the detectable touch surface distance and the more the system will only respond to nearby touch events. By disabling the high impedance of the transmit conductor, the number of low impedance conductors in that area is reduced, allowing the electromagnetic field lines to reach farther from the surface of the touch sensor for better detection of hover events. do. In certain embodiments, the transmit conductor can be moved to a high impedance mode under software control to collect data regarding proximity touch and hover events in a time division multiplexed manner. In FIG. 5, -vgs may exceed the Vth of the pfet used. If the control signal is active, the signal at D may be allowed to move to the signal at S with minimal (ie, single digit ohm) impedance. When the control signal is inactive, -vgs may be at or near 0 volts. Further, the path from D to S becomes a high impedance path. In some embodiments, a single pfet may be used for efficient multiplexing and fast switching.

In some embodiments, the touch sensor comprises: a plurality of transmit conductors adapted to transmit in at least a first mode and a second mode; operably connected to the plurality of transmit conductors; a signal generator configured to transmit a frequency orthogonal signal to each of the plurality of transmit conductors; a plurality of receive conductors operably connected to a receiver; a signal processor operably connected to the machine for processing a received signal received on each of the plurality of receive conductors during a plurality of integration periods; a signal processor configured to determine, for each of the plurality of receiving conductors, a measurement to determine a touch event; , more of the plurality of transmitting conductors transmit frequency orthogonal signals, and during the second mode the touch event can be determined further from the touch sensor than during the first mode.

Another aspect of the disclosure is a touch sensor, the touch sensor comprising: a first plurality of conductors adapted to transmit signals in a first mode; a first plurality of conductors adapted to transmit signals in a second mode; a second plurality of conductors adapted to receive signals in the first mode and the second mode; said first plurality of conductors and said second plurality of conductors; the signal generator operably connected to the signal generator, the signal generator being configured to transmit a signal to each of the first plurality of conductors and the second plurality of conductors; a signal processor operably connected to a third plurality of conductors for processing a received signal received on each of the third plurality of conductors during a plurality of integration periods; a signal processor configured to determine a measurement value for determining a touch event for each of the plurality of receiving conductors and for each of the plurality of receiving conductors, the number of conductors in the first plurality of conductors; is greater than the number of conductors in the second plurality of conductors, and during the second mode touch events can be determined further from the touch sensor than during the first mode.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is a method of detecting a touch event, the method of detecting a touch event comprising transmitting a signal along a plurality of transmit conductors in a first mode, the transmit conductor being operably connected to a signal generator, the signal generator configured to transmit a frequency orthogonal signal on each of the plurality of transmit conductors; receiving the signal on a plurality of receive conductors; the plurality of receive conductors are operably connected to a receiver, a signal processor is operably connected to the receiver, and the signal processor controls each of the plurality of receive conductors for a plurality of integration periods. and for each of the plurality of integration periods and for each of the plurality of receive conductors, the step is configured to process a received signal at a timer and determine a measurement value to determine a touch event. determining a first touch event occurring in one mode; transmitting a signal in a second mode, wherein in the second mode fewer of the transmitting conductors transmit a signal; determining a second touch event that occurs in the first mode, the second touch event occurring further away from the touch sensor than during the first mode.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Good morning.

Claims (20)

A touch sensor, the touch sensor comprising:
a plurality of transmitting conductors adapted to transmit in at least a first mode and a second mode;
a signal generator operably connected to the plurality of transmit conductors, the signal generator generating a plurality of frequency orthogonal signals to each of the transmit conductors included in the set of the plurality of transmit conductors ; a signal generator configured to transmit at least one of the plurality of frequency orthogonal signals;
a plurality of receiving conductors operably connected to the receiver;
a signal processor operably connected to the receiver to process a signal received on each of the plurality of receive conductors during a plurality of integration periods, and for each of the plurality of integration periods; and a signal processor configured to determine a measurement value for each of the plurality of receiving conductors to determine a touch event;
including;
wherein during the first mode, the set of the plurality of transmitting conductors includes more transmitting conductors among the plurality of transmitting conductors than during the second mode; The touch sensor may be characterized in that the touch event can be determined further away from the touch sensor than during the first mode. The touch sensor of claim 1, wherein during the second mode, half of the transmitting conductors during the first mode transmit frequency orthogonal signals. 2. The touch sensor of claim 1, further comprising a third mode, wherein a different number of transmitting conductors than during the first mode or the second mode transmit frequency orthogonal signals. 2. The touch sensor of claim 1, wherein during the second mode, one quarter of the transmitting conductors in the first mode transmit frequency orthogonal signals. The touch sensor of claim 1, wherein during the second mode, the transmitting conductors transmitting frequency orthogonal signals are equidistant from each other. The touch sensor of claim 1, wherein during the second mode, the transmitting conductors transmitting frequency orthogonal signals are not equidistant from each other. The touch sensor of claim 1, wherein during the second mode, three quarters of the transmitting conductors in the first mode transmit frequency orthogonal signals. A touch sensor, the touch sensor comprising:
a first plurality of conductors adapted to transmit signals in a first mode;
a second plurality of conductors adapted to transmit signals in a second mode;
a third plurality of conductors adapted to receive signals in the first mode and the second mode;
a signal generator operably connected to the first plurality of conductors and the second plurality of conductors, the signal generator generating a plurality of frequency orthogonal signals; a signal generator configured to transmit at least one of the plurality of frequency orthogonal signals to each of the conductors and the second plurality of conductors;
a signal processor operably connected to the third plurality of conductors to process signals received on each of the third plurality of conductors during a plurality of integration periods; a signal processor configured to determine a measurement value for each of the plurality of integration periods and for each of the third plurality of conductors to determine a touch event;
including;
The number of conductors in the first plurality of conductors is greater than the number of conductors in the second plurality of conductors, and during the second mode, a touch event is more sensitive to the touch sensor than during the first mode. A touch sensor characterized in that it can be determined further away from the touch sensor. 9. The touch sensor of claim 8, wherein the number of conductors in the second plurality of conductors is half the number of conductors in the first plurality of conductors. further comprising the third plurality of conductors adapted to transmit signals in a third mode, the number of conductors in the third plurality being the number of conductors in the first plurality of conductors and the number of conductors in the first plurality of conductors; 9. The touch sensor of claim 8, wherein the number of conductors in the second plurality of conductors is different. 9. The touch sensor of claim 8, wherein the number of conductors in the second plurality of conductors is one quarter of the number of conductors in the first plurality of conductors. 9. The touch sensor of claim 8, wherein conductors in the second plurality of conductors are equidistant from each other. 9. The touch sensor of claim 8, wherein the second plurality of conductors are not equidistant from each other. 9. The touch sensor of claim 8, wherein the number of conductors in the second plurality of conductors is three-quarters of the number of conductors in the first plurality of conductors. A method of detecting a touch event using a plurality of transmitting conductors, a signal generator, a plurality of receiving conductors, a receiver and a signal processor, the method comprising:
In a first mode, the signal generator generates a plurality of frequency orthogonal signals and transmits at least one of the plurality of frequency orthogonal signals to a respective transmission conductor in the set of plurality of transmission conductors. transmitting a signal from the signal generator along the plurality of transmission conductors operably connected to the signal generator;
the receiver, the signal processor being operably connected to the receiver, the signal processor processing the received signal on each of the plurality of receive conductors for a plurality of integration periods; the plurality of receivers configured to determine a measurement value for determining a touch event for each of the plurality of integration periods and each of the plurality of receiver conductors, and operably connected to the receiver; a process of receiving a signal with a conductor;
determining a first touch event occurring in the first mode;
transmitting a signal in a second mode, the second mode having fewer transmitting conductors in the set of transmitting conductors than in the first mode transmitting a signal; The process of
determining a second touch event that occurs during the second mode, the second touch event occurring further from the touch sensor than during the first mode; process and
A method consisting of 16. The method of claim 15, wherein during the second mode, half of the transmit conductors during the first mode transmit frequency orthogonal signals. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising transmitting signals in a third mode, wherein a different number of the transmitting conductors transmit signals than in the first mode or the second mode. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein during the second mode, one quarter of the transmit conductors in the first mode transmit frequency orthogonal signals. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein during the second mode, the transmitting conductors transmitting signals are equidistant from each other. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein during the second mode, the transmitting conductors transmitting signals are not equidistant from each other.